The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-14
NEW ENGLAND J0TTINGS.
Facts and Figures About the Unmarried Wom-
en- of Observation-Disclosures Wives.
Yankee spinsters.


"a pressing question in the East at least-the
growing number of unmarried women. In one
of the smaller New England towns, where 1t
seemed as If the family were almost ceasing to
be the unit Of society, met who for
some years back has kept a record of the girls
who have graduated from the high-school of the
village, what they have done and what, up to
date. has become of them. She gave me her fig
ures for the classes from 1871 to 1876 from six
teen to eleven years ago, and strange figures for
any marrying or giving in marriage community
they seem.
The average age of the graduates from a typi-
cal New England high school is between sixteen
and seventeen years Hence it would seem that
the women of whom this list has been kept, rang
ing at present from twenty-seven to thirty SIX
years old, have done the greater proportion or
all the Settling in life" which they are likely
to do.
There were 10 girls in the class of 1 ST. or
this number have married. have died of con-
sumption, 10 are unmarried. OF the 10 girls or
1872, have married and 10 single. OF the
81 of 1873 are married and Is single. OF
the IS of 1874. 2 have married, have died of
consumption, and are single. OF the ID or
1875, have married, has died of consumption,
and are single. OF the II of 1876. 6 have mar
ried, has died of consumption, and 10 are sim
gle Making for a total of 80 graduates, 27 mar
riages ii deaths and 81 women thus far single
No account is taken OF the years since 1876, be-
cause as the average age at marriage is advanc-
ing fair conclusion could be drawn from the
younger classes. The proportion of single
women, it will be seen, is nearly two-thirds of
the whole number. Whether this town is fairly
representative of its section 1 have
means of knowing, nor whether the
same proportion would hold among the
unschooed less-schooled girls of the place.
There is no obvious why it should not,
however, for a high school education is not suffi
GENTLY exalted to in anv mind the uspi-
con that the girl who has subjected herself to
it has thereby untitled herself for the domestic
duties of life The eleven deaths were one and
all from east-wind consumption, which gets to
be hereditary and plays direful havoc in farni-
lies. There have been two cases OF insanity. but
these both occurred among the married twenty
seven The largest number of children in the
families of the married is three. Three of the
ninety nine girls went to college after leaving
the high school, but these are IN the married
list.
OF the unmarried sixty one twenty-one follow
a very usual feminine trade: they school
ma'ams, at Hampton teaching the Indians.
under General Armstrong; twenty in public
schools and academies. Three set type. one
reads proof, one is the head dress-maker in dry
goods establishment, four dress make on
smaller scale. three are music teachers, one has
studied medicine, fifteen stitchers and but
ton hole makers in shoe shops, and the rest are
home stayers.
just what has brought about such a prepon-
derance of spinsterhood it would be hard to say.
People have contended that it didn't exist and
have explained the immense surplus of women
in New England on the supposition that most of
them are widows, made so by the hazardous oc-
equations OF the men on the eastern coast
Widows there are in plenty, but these slxty-one
and everybody that knows anything of New
England will find it easy matter to call up
plenty of similar instances-have certainly never
married probably most of them have never had
opportunity to marry. There are very few
manageable young men to be found at the pres
ent time in any smaliish New England town.
The serene quiet of the most letharglc section of
these United States doesn't suit a young
He goes away before he is old enough to marry,
and the chances are he doesn't come back again.
be Is a drummer out on the road somewhere. or
he finds his way into business in Boston, New
York the West If he makes vacation trip
home. he is impressed by the lack of money in
New England outside the cities. by the length
of time since the houses have boon painted
and the amount of ejaculation required
before a dollar can be expended He doesn't
stay long enough 10 learn to admire tho hardy
thrift that wiring comfortable support out
of a rocky soil where New Yorker would starve
or commit suicide. and the girls he left behind
him cannot compare, SO he thinks on his return,
for beauty of dress pretty coquetry of man
ner small talk of society with the city girl
VINO has become insensibly his standard of girl
hood. Not that he expects to marry the city girl,
not at all, 10. The newspapers have sandered
her TO the transplanted country young man until
between ice-cream in summer and seal-skins in
winter, civilization would be justified. if it put
much faith In newspapers. in finging its girl
babies into the Charles river the Hudson to
rid the world of such useless membranes The
fairly well meaning and domestic young
thinks he doesn't approve of the city girl, but
her chic has none the less surely spoiled the
country girl for him, the usual result being that
he goes into bachelors lodging until he has
fitted himself In tastes and habits to marry at
all.
These things considered it is forum ate for the
spnster that she is beginning to think it natu-
raj and not altogether an unpleasant state Of
affairs to be a spDster They do not look to me
an unhappy lot. these New England old maids
For one thing, New England Is learning to be
tender OF them. She does not call them old
maids. Being SO strong element in society
they perhaps dictate its attitude toward them
selves. At all events, by pleasant euphemism
enough the fiction of their perpetual youth is
kept up until they die. You may hear New
England woman speak of the Fisher girls
the Simpson girls" for weeks before the truth
is borne in upon you that the girls we'll along
toward their SEVENTEEN year. They never mar
ried and nobody was ever Cruz enough to mark
out any line beyond wnic obey ceased to be
young.
They self-respectine ano respected these
spinsters, too. / wonder if it sounds strange IN
more sophisticated ATTITUDES TO hold that there
are to this day New England towns in abundance
where the best educated and best bred Yankee
girls of the best old colonial family go into
the shoe shop as Lucy Larcom and her compeers
did into the Lowell mills when mills and shoe
factories were new, and work there years
after she has ceased to be girl save by cour-
tesy, and still read the Atlantic, and move in.
perhaps lead. the most aristocratic society of
the place 1t is not such bad thing to be
Did maid whore you work at whatever
comes handiest without loss of dignity,
md where your neighbors both sides
more likely than not to be old maids too. You
are following what is there the natural destiny
If woman. If you marry, then indeed comes
he wonder. the surprise. Where did he come
rom, who is he and how did it happen that you
ook fancy to himl Sometimes New Eng
and village puts an exaggerated value a man.
specially newcomer as rare and unexpected
,elng opens new possibilities to half the girls in
he place; but oftener the women grow self
dependent, so used to managing for themselves
hat the unnecessary creature. man, must be
cry good indeed to be good enough for of
hem There is more or less common sense
loating round in New England and it is about
8 good place to be an old maid in could
ind. ELIZA P. HEAToN.